Windows remains relatively new to the pill marketplace, with the launch of Windows 8 taking place just a little over a 12 months in the past. But that doesn’t suggest the marketplace isn’t packed with options for clients, starting from ARM-based Windows RT alternatives together with the Microsoft Surface 2 and Nokia Lumia 2520, to complete-blown Windows eight.1 convertibles and hybrids.

Asus Transformer Pad T100 - $425

  • 10.1”, 1366x768 IPS LCD (a hundred and fifty five ppi)
  • Intel Bay Trail Z3740 SoC
  • 1.3 GHz quad-core CPU, HD Graphics GPU, 2GB RAM
  • 32 GB inner garage, microSD card slot
  • Keyboard dock accent included
  • Wi-Fi a/b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0, 31 Wh battery
  • Windows eight.1 + Microsoft Office
  • 550 grams, 10.5mm thick

High-end pills tend to capture loads of interest from the click thanks to their fancy functions and pinnacle-tier hardware, however now and again the entry-level merchandise can be the maximum thrilling.

The device I’m looking at these days is one such entry-level product, the Asus Transformer Book T100, which consists of a ten-inch pill, Intel ‘Bay Trail’ internals, and a keyboard dock concerned with underneath $500. The Transformer line of merchandise has usually been quite stable, so it’ll be thrilling to peer how an lower priced Windows-based model fares.

The 10-inch Windows convertible marketplace is pretty crowded, so how will the T100 stand out? Are the pill’s trade-offs too much for the asking fee?

Design

Asus’ ordinary tablet design is once more harnessed for the Transformer Book T100. To be sincere, there’s not a excellent deal of things a organization can do to shake up the standard 10-inch pill form, but as a minimum Asus has managed to paintings in some signature touches. The circular radial sample on the lower back has returned, with prominent Asus branding, giving the tool a amazing shine within the mild.

However the pattern doesn’t offer any texture, with Asus opting for a smooth, easy plastic coating over the deep-grey again. Other Asus pills tend to use matte plastic that preserves the gentle ribbed sense as a result of the radial sample, which offers the tablet a nicer texture, however rather the T100 is smooth all over. That consists of the glass shielding the touchscreen, that's covered to help fingers swiping across the show.

Despite a commonly plastic construction, the T100 feels remarkably solid. There is a small quantity of flex within the returned panel while a large amount of pressure is implemented, which is a spinoff of using plastic as opposed to metal. It definitely doesn’t sense just like the tablet goes to snap in 1/2, and a small rim around the display must assist barely to guard the glass inside the case of a drop. Naturally, each the front and back of this smooth device are large fingerprint magnets, however they appear pretty scratch-proof.

The front of the tablet is buttonless, ditching any sort of Windows button for a minimalist profile. Above the ten-inch display you’ll discover a few branding to the left, plus an off-center front dealing with digital camera, and an ambient mild sensor. Here we’re managing your standard slate-fashion pill; perhaps a tad extensive because of the 16:nine show aspect ratio, but there’s enough bezel to keep the tool readily.

The left facet sees both a volume rocker and the relocated Windows button, the latter of which genuinely appears like a mandatory Microsoft-forced inclusion (it's far) instead of a idea-out, ergonomic placement. Along the pinnacle you’ll discover the strength button to the left, at the same time as the right hand side has all of the ports. The T100 gives you a micro-USB port, micro-HDMI port, exposed microSD card slot and three.5mm audio jack.

Along the bottom are the very visible dock connectors: for hinges and one for statistics. They aren’t specifically aesthetically beautiful, and occasionally you’ll feel them whilst maintaining the tablet in portrait orientation, but they facilitate the relationship of a useful accent. Stereo speakers are protected on the lower back of the pill, that is brilliant for watching videos and playing video games.

At 550 grams the pill falls inside the middle of pill weights. In my utilization I didn’t enjoy a great deal arm fatigue when the usage of the tool for prolonged durations. The T100’s width of 10.5mm isn’t extraordinary either, however the curved edges attempt to conceal some of this fatness, especially while it’s in your hand.

If I had to describe the T100’s design in one phrase, it might be ‘practical’. Asus did not meant to shatter any layout information, alternatively focusing their engineering efforts into maintaining the construct lower priced but strong.

Display

Don’t count on anything too superb from the Transformer Book T100’s display. Here we’re speaking about a 1366 x 768 IPS LCD display sized at 10.1 inches, that's modest thinking about the standard now rests at 1920 x 1080. It’s clear that Asus has used this kind of show to hold prices down – in spite of everything this is a budget device – but the decision specially leaves a lot to be favored.

The 10.1-inch panel makes use of a 16:nine thing ratio, that's a bit awkward while protecting in panorama mode as compared to a four:3 iPad or sixteen:10 Nexus 10 with a similar show length. But the thing ratio does allow most TV/film content to be played in full display with few (if any) letterboxing, making this type of pill nicely proper as a media player. Having this type of huge panel is also exact for strolling two apps side-by way of-side the usage of snapping in Windows 8.1.

Quality of the panel itself is reasonable, as predicted from an IPS TFT LCD display. Like many displays Asus has used inside the beyond, shade accuracy is quite accurate, as are the viewing angles. Contrast, black stages and fashionable show vibrancy aren’t as top at the T100 as I’ve experienced from other gadgets, but still very suited for a finances pill.

Brightness is average, if tending towards the low side when thinking about the reflective glossy protecting coating. The tablet does consist of a photodetector to automatically regulate the brightness depending on the situations, and it commonly works quite nicely, however it can be difficult to examine textual content on the show while exterior inside the sun.

The resolution is obviously the most disappointing issue of the Transformer Book T100’s display with its one hundred fifty five PPI. 768p has remained the ‘default’ resolution of sorts for generations of Windows laptops, but the marketplace is transferring far from this particularly low decision in desire of 1080p and better. One extraordinary example of that is Microsoft’s Surface, which ditched 768p inside the Surface RT for 1080p within the Surface 2.

The T100 is missing the crispness and clarity of a high-density display like is blanketed inside the iPad Air, Nexus 7 or Surface 2, and it’s most important in textual content-heavy packages like Twitter or Internet Explorer. While you’re less possibly to observe while viewing snap shots, you gained’t see as a whole lot element as a excessive-res panel.

It’s clear that the most important trade-offs have been made inside the show branch to keep the T100 under $500. The pill never includes a horrible display, but its low-decision can’t in shape different devices inside the same price bracket, that could become being a chief weak spot for some shoppers.